


mellow yellow (too close to the sun)

by Hazazel



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Developing Relationship, Gift Fic, Mythology References, Other, POV Alternating, Pre-Relationship, Third Gym (Haikyuu!!)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24027871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hazazel/pseuds/Hazazel
Summary: They don’t know how they ended up like this, in the third gym, with Bokuto of course (that’s a given, when are they ever far from him), but also some other friends that had gathered along the way.They immediately regret calling everyone present a friend as Tsukishima approaches them on the other side of the net, coy smile in place.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Tsukishima Kei
Comments: 6
Kudos: 30





	mellow yellow (too close to the sun)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [jercydee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/jercydee/gifts).



> gift for jercy !! hope you like it :D

Keiji looks at the other side of the net, deadpan, and sighs as Kuroo claps Tsukishima on the back. Hinata is furious at himself for his spike being blocked, and they almost tell him that height isn’t on their side, but that would only rile him up.

“Don’t mind, don’t mind !” Bokuto yells from the other side of the court, wincing as he gets up from a particularly nasty receive. Keiji hopes this won’t activate the “emo mode”, but Bokuto seems fine, walking to Hinata and whispering advice in a voice entirely too loud to be discreet. They don’t know how they ended up like this, in the third gym, with Bokuto of course (that’s a given, when are they ever far from him), but also some other friends that had gathered along the way.

They immediately regret calling everyone present a friend as Tsukishima approaches them on the other side of the net, coy smile in place. “Could have sworn you were a better setter than this,” his smirk seems to say, a nd what actually comes out of that damned mouth is a “I guess that with Kuroo-san and I, Fukurodani’s chances at Nationals just seem a little lower.”

It’s kind of out-of-character for Tsukishima to assert his skills like that, and Keiji winces before they can stop  the mself. “Hinata is on your team, not mine,” is what they answer, and that knocks the smile right off Tsukishima’s face. Good.

P ractice halts to a stop after Lev receives a spike straight to his nose, and starts bleeding profusely. Hinata hops alongside him to the infirmary, while Kuroo and Bokuto start cleaning up the gym. This leaves Keiji with Tsukishima, who is intently looking at everything but them. Fine, two can play this game.

* * *

Seeing Akaashi for the first time was like witnessing the sun rising. Bright, quick, hopeful – all the things Kei shies from. Seeing him again, and again, and again, spiking their tosses, blocking them too, felt like walking on air. Kei, no matter what people say, has feelings, and they’re all being wrenched from hi m at an alarming speed. Like the rosy-fingered dawn, Akaashi reached deep into his chest and l eft a  gaping  Akaashi-shaped hole where his heart should be. 

Akaashi, always them, is leaning on the doorway, and they shouldn’t look so good in the golden halo created by the bright neon lighting of the gym, but they do, and it would burn Kei’s retinas if he s tared at them too long. He strains his eyes on the floor, only stealing glances when Akaashi looks the other way. Their eyelashes are long enough to cast shadows on their cheeks, and their  bottom  lip i s tinted pink from being worried at so much. 

T hey are, in one word, gorgeous, glittering like the sun on the sea, ephemeral like the reflection of the sunset on the waves – there one minute and gone the next.

K ei would almost blame himself for looking away.

* * *

“So~,” Bokuto drawls as they make their way back to the Fukurodani dormitory. “You talked to Tsukki.”

“No,” Keiji honestly answers.

“What d’you mean ? We left you two alone, didn’t he say something ?”

“He didn’t. He’s all bark and no bite.”

Bokuto frowns at that. “Dude, you mean… he didn’t even talk ?”

“What was he supposed to say ? It’s not like he’s got a crush on me or something. I wasn’t expecting a confession or anything like that.” This makes Bokuto look really, really uncomfortable. “Bokuto-san,” Keiji says, stopping dead in their tracks. “Tell me that-”

“I didn’t say anything !” he wails. “Holy shit, ‘kaashi, I really didn’t expect you to bury the poor guy !”

“Holy shit,” they repeat. “He’s got a crush on me.”

“Who’s got a crush on our Akaashi ?” They’ve reached the dormitory, and Konoha is leaning on the door frame, lazy smile in place. “We gotta give him the shovel talk.”

Later that night Keiji finds it impossible to sleep, in spite of th e extra practice. Bokuto’s words echo in their mind,  and there’s just one thing left to do. They get up silently, walking over their sleeping teammates, and they reach the Karasuno dormitory in no time. They’re not sure they can enter, so they creak the door open to hear any unusual activity.

Inside, there seems to be two people talking. Keiji listens intently,  leaning against the sliding door , and they manage to recognise the voices.  It’s Tsukishima, and he’s talking with… 

“Suga-san, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh ho ho, you know perfectly well. Which one of them do you have a crush on ?”

K eiji pales – so it really was true – and they lean even closer to the voices, when…

In a deafening crash, the door slides open and they fall face down on the floor.

A chorus of “Wah ?” echoes in the quiet night, and Keiji wishes they could disappear in a hole and never be seen again. Sugawara-san is gloating from where he’s propped up on his elbows, and Tsukishima must be about as pale as Keiji themself.

“Sorry, I tripped,” Keiji mumbles, before running away.

* * *

If Akaashi is the Sun, Kei surely must be Icarus, flying higher and higher and feeling his feathers burn the closer he gets to them. The pain is well worth it, catching a glimpse of light makes his h eart glow a mellow yellow. 

That’s why he doesn’t understand when he sees Akaashi red-faced, stumbling without their usual grace, and running away. What did they hear ? He can’t have said too much. Fuck, now, Sugawara is never going to let him live it down. Tomorrow morning everyone will know, and he already can’t bear the shame.

“Go after them,” Sugawara whispers. “I don’t think the others understood who that was. And my little pinky tells me you got a chance at this, so go !”

K ei doesn’t think. He gets up and walks out the room, realising he has no idea where Akaashi might have gone. He wanders along empty corridors and checks the Fukurodani dormitory, but they’re not there. On a hunch, he walks out to the 3 rd gym and sure enough, there’s light inside. Being a vice captain, Akaashi must have the keys. Kei peeks  inside, and is surprised to see Akaashi sitting down on the floor, head between their knees. 

Rejection would hurt like hell, a slow descent into the sea, weighed down by useless wings. But just this once Kei wants to be brave. Just this once, he wants to try his luck.

“Akaashi ?” He enters the room quietly, and sends them an apologetic smile when they startle.

“Tsukishima-kun. I wasn’t expecting you here.”

* * *

One thing Keiji didn’t expect was for Tsukishima to follow them here. He smiles and sits down in front of them, mimicking their posture. It’s so unlike Tsukishima to chase after what his heart desires, and it makes Keiji’s own heart thump so loud they’re afraid he will hear.

“What now ?” Tsukishima asks, not looking at them. 

“I… I don’t know.” They really don’t. It’s the first time that Keiji is on the receiving end of a confession, one that hasn’t been said out loud no less. “Do you… have feelings for me ?”

Tsukishima scoffs. “Like you didn’t know already.”

“Bokuto told me. I hadn’t noticed.”

“Damn,” and Tsukishima sounds bitter. “I’ll take that as a no.”

He gets up, dusts his shorts off, and starts walking towards the door. That makes Keiji realise one thing – they don’t want him to hurt. They don’t want all his efforts to allow himself to have fun to be for nothing.

If something more could bloom, it’d be fair for them both to have a chance at it.

“Wait !” they call. “Tsukishima, wait.”

“I don’t want to hear that you’re sorry.”

“I’m not.” Keiji scrambles to gather their thoughts. One wrong step could ruin it all – they want this to be good, for the both of them. “I wanted to ask for your number.”

“Oh.” Tsukishima is still facing away from them but his neck and ears are red. “I’ll give it to you at the end of the camp.”

“Fair enough.”

* * *

K ei is a coward. Oh, don’t get him wrong, he went to all the extra practice, he talked normally to everyone – Akaashi included.  He even participated in the punishment drills whenever Karasuno lost, which was, a fair amount. Blinded by the sun, he kept walking along, and he finds he doesn't mind as much as he expected. 

That’s why he isn’t surprised to see Akaashi inch closer and closer to their bus as they prepare to leave, Sawamura and Kuroo engrossed in a handshake duel. And like the coward he is, Kei runs away, Suga-san’s disapproving glare burning his neck. He stops only when a hand grabs his arm – it’s Akaashi, who managed to catch up to him anyway.

“Tsukishima,” they start slowly. “Are – is everything okay ?”

“Yeah.” His voice is pale, not at all cutting like he intended. “You’re here to say you don’t want my number.” The words are out of his mouth before he can stop them, and he curses. He doesn’t want to look weak – the sun glares back, unlike Akaashi, who has a soft look on their face.

“Here,” Akaashi says. They’re handing him a scrap of paper, with a name and a number on it.

Kei looks at it like it’s gonna bite him. “That’s your number ?” he can’t help but ask.

“I would assume so, Tsukishima.”

“Oh.” He takes the paper, folds it quickly, and it disappears into the black hole that is his bag. He will have all day, hell, all his life, to contemplate what to say to Akaashi and then never send it.

“I got your number from Kuroo-san already, but I thought it’d be more polite to give you this as well.”

“Oh,” Kei says again. Akaashi smiles. “I’ll keep in touch, then.”

“We will !” And just like that, they’re gone.

* * *

Keiji feels their heart stammer in their chest as they walk away, cheeks a flamboyant red. They have been watching, all week long, and they have come to the conclusion that Tsukishima is actually a pretty funny person. He’s also smart, and – oh, well, they can say it now – a little bit gorgeous. It’s funny how seeing someone in a different light can change your perception of them so much over so little time. And truth be told, Keiji likes what they see.

“You’re looking awfully happy to be here, ‘kaashi,” is what Bokuto says on the bus back home. Keiji doesn’t answer, only showing him his phone, where a text to Tsukishima is awaiting a reply. “Oh ho ho !”

The answer comes late at night, in the form of triple texting.

** TO: tsukishima kei **

> hi, it’s akaashi keiji

** FROM: tsukishima kei **

< I hope your trip went well.

< We’re back safe.

< Sleep well… Keiji.

Keiji only sees it in the morning, and when they do, they feel a fondness in their heart that wasn’t there yesterday – on to new beginnings, it seems.

**Author's Note:**

> as always, feel free to yell at me in the comments. i don't bite !


End file.
